QUALITY EVALUATION OF FRESH-CUT 'JOSAPINE' PINEAPPLE COATED WITH HYDROCOLLOID BASED EDIBLE COATING USING GELATIN

The quality of fresh-cut ‘Josapine’ pineapple coated with hydrocolloid based edible coating using gelatin was evaluated during storage at 10°C. Pineapple fruits were pre-cooled overnight at 10°C prior to cutting. Cut pineapple were coated with gelatin at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%. Samples without coating were treated as control. All samples were packed in rigid polypropylene containers and stored for 8 days at 10°C. Samples were evaluated at 2 days interval for the physicochemical changes (colour, texture, pH, TTA and TSS) and microbiological changes (total plate count, total coliform and total yeast and mold). Overall results indicated fresh-cut pineapple remained good only for 6 days during storage at 10°C as fungal infestation was observed in all treatments with prolonged storage. No significant difference was observed in all physicochemical parameters between the treated and control samples. However, overall microbiological analysis showed a slight reduction of total bacteria counts (TBC) and total yeast and mold (TYM) in 0.5% gelatin and reduction of total coliform (TC) in 1.0% gelatin.